Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 4
Claim 1
Independent Claim
311 words
A method of preventing the scattering of residual charged toner from a movable photosensitive member of an electrostatic copying of the type also including a corona discharger for charging said photosensitive member, means for forming on the thus charged photosensitive member an electrostatic latent image of an original to be copied, a development unit disposed downstream of said corona discharger with respect to the direction of movement of said photosensitive member and having a development roller for applying toner, charged at a polarity opposite to that of said photosensitive member, to said photosensitive member and thereby to develop said electrostatic latent image into a toner image, means for transferring said toner image to a recording sheet, and a blade member positioned downstream of said transferring means and upstream of said corona discharger, said method comprising: maintaining said blade member in sliding contact with said photosensitive member during a first mode of operation of said copying machine in which an image is formed on said photosensitive member and transferred therefrom to a recording sheet, thereby blocking from movement with said photosensitive member residual charged toner not transferred to the recording sheet, and thus maintaining a mass of the thus blocked toner at a position on the upstream side of said blade member; removing said blade member from contact with said photosensitive member during a second mode of operation of said copying machine in which no image is formed on said photosensitive member, and thereby allowing said mass of toner to move with said photosensitive member toward said development roller; and during said second mode of operation applying to a member of said copying machine, other than said photosensitive member and positioned between said blade member and said development roller, a bias potential of the same polarity as that of said toner, and thereby repelling said mass of toner toward said photosensitive member.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
311 words
A method of preventing the scattering of residual charged toner from a movable photosensitive member of an electrostatic copying of the type also including a corona discharger for charging said photosensitive member, means for forming on the thus charged photosensitive member an electrostatic latent image of an original to be copied, a development unit disposed downstream of said corona discharger with respect to the direction of movement of said photosensitive member and having a development roller for applying toner, charged at a polarity opposite to that of said photosensitive member, to said photosensitive member and thereby to develop said electrostatic latent image into a toner image, means for transferring said toner image to a recording sheet, and a blade member positioned downstream of said transferring means and upstream of said corona discharger, said method comprising: maintaining said blade member in sliding contact with said photosensitive member during a first mode of operation of said copying machine in which an image is formed on said photosensitive member and transferred therefrom to a recording sheet, thereby blocking from movement with said photosensitive member residual charged toner not transferred to the recording sheet, and thus maintaining a mass of the thus blocked toner at a position on the upstream side of said blade member; removing said blade member from contact with said photosensitive member during a second mode of operation of said copying machine in which no image is formed on said photosensitive member, and thereby allowing said mass of toner to move with said photosensitive member toward said development roller; and during said second mode of operation applying to a member of said copying machine, other than said photosensitive member and positioned between said blade member and said development roller, a bias potential of the same polarity as that of said toner, and thereby repelling said mass of toner toward said photosensitive member.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
35 words
A method according to claim 1, comprising applying said bias potential to a shield case of said corona discharger during said second mode of operation in which no image is formed on said photosensitive member.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
24 words
A method according to claim 1, wherein said bias potential is of the same polarity as said charged toner with respect to ground potential.